Political party Federalist | Name Samuel Dana | |
Died July 21, 1830(1830-07-21) (aged 70)Middletown, Connecticut | ||
Samuel Whittlesey Dana (February 13, 1760 – July 21, 1830) was an American lawyer and politician from Middletown, Connecticut. He represented Connecticut in both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate.
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Biography
Born in Wallingford, Connecticut, Dana graduated from Yale College in 1775. He studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1778, and practiced in Middletown, Connecticut.
Family
His father was the clergyman James Dana (1735-1812), who was a nephew of Richard Dana (1699-1772), a lawyer, who was in turn a descendant through Caleb, second son of Daniel, who was the youngest son of Richard Dana, who came from England, settled in Cambridge in 1640, and died there about 1695. According to the family tradition, this last Richard was the son of a French Huguenot that settled in England in 1629.
Career
Dana was a member of the Connecticut General Assembly from 1789 to 1796. Afterward he was elected to the United States House of Representatives to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Uriah Tracy, and served from January 3, 1797 to May 10, 1810. There he was chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Elections, and was one of the managers appointed by the House of Representatives in 1798 to conduct the impeachment proceedings against William Blount, a Senator from Tennessee.
Dana was elected as a Federalist in 1810 to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of James Hillhouse. He was reelected in 1814 and served from December 4, 1810, to March 3, 1821. He was one of the 13 Senators who voted against war with Britain on June 17, 1812, but 19 Senators voted for war. In 1814, Dana was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society.
Dana was mayor of Middletown from 1822 until his death in 1830. He was also the presiding judge of the Middlesex County Court from 1825 until his death.
Death
Dana died in Middletown, Middlesex County, Connecticut, July 21, 1830 (age 70 years, 158 days). He is interred at Washington Street Cemetery, Middletown.